Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/183

Rh a few long scutella ; toes scutellate above, the inner free, the hind toe of moderate size ; claws slender, compressed, arched, acute.

Plumage soft, blended. Wings rather short, second and third quills longest, first shorter than the fourth, which is almost as long as the third. Tail rather long, slightly emarginate, of twelve rounded feathers.

Bill black. Iris brownish-black. Feet dusky, the toes yellow be- neath. Upper part of the head ash-grey. A band from the forehead to the eye, passing under it, and becoming broader behind the eye, hind neck, anterior part of the back, and upper tail-coverts, black. A short white line over and behind the eye, and a speck of the same under it. Wing-coverts and quills deep brown, edged with light grey, the first row of small coverts and the secondary coverts broadly tipped with white, forming two bars across the wing. Tail brownish-black, the feathers, ex- cepting the two middle, having an oblong white mark on the inner web beyond the middle, forming a broad bar across the tail. The throat bright yellow, the rest of the lower parts of the same colour, fading behind into white, the middle of the neck, the breast, and sides, mai'ked with large oblong longitudinal spots of brownish-black. Rump greyish-yellow.

During winter the black band crossing the cheek, passes over the hind neck, and joins the black of the back.

Length 5 inches, extent of wings 7J ; bill along the ridge ^%, along the edge ^% ; tarsus |, middle toe ^^.

Adidt Female. Plate CXXIII. Fig. 2.

The Female is similar to the male, bat somewhat paler beneath. For the description of the Young fully fledged, see vol. i. p. 260.

RiTBUs ODORATUs, WUM. Sp. PI. vol. ii. p. 1085. Pursh, Flor. Amer. Sept. vol. i. p. 348. — IcosANDRiA PoLYGVNiA, Linn. Rosacea, Juss.

This species of rasp has the stems hispid ; the leaves three or five- lobed, acute ; the flowers in lateral and terminal corymbs, with divaricate stalks and appendiculate calyces. It is abundant in the Middle and Eastern, but rare in the Southern and Western Districts. It forms part of the rich undergrowth of our woods, and also grows in old fields with other species of the genus. The flowers are rose-coloured and showy, but destitute of odour, and the fruit is delicious and highly fragrant, from which circumstance the species derives its name. k2